Egypt's Amer Group (AMER.CA) will implement a 250-million-U.S. dollar tourism project in the Dead Sea area in Jordan. Jordan's Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Tuesday met with leading Egyptian businessman and chairman of Amer Group, Mansour Amer, and told him that his government had given the go-ahead to Porto Dead Sea, a $250 million tourist project on dead Sea shores, the state-run Petra news agency reported. The venture on the Dead Sea's eastern beach comprises construction of a five-star hotel, villas and apartments -- 3,000 rooms in total -- plus a mall, tourist facilities including shopping outlets, restaurants and coffee shops, swimming pools, a state-of-the-art health resort and various sports fields. During the meeting, attended by the ministerial economic development committee, Ensour welcomed "this qualitative investment" at the Dead Sea, which will generate about 3,000 jobs to Jordanians, pledging that the government will provide all facilities and remove any obstacles facing implementation. Amer said his group, one of the biggest tourist facilities firms in Egypt and the region, had weighed up all aspects of a successful business, including security and political stability, the legislative environment, services and skilled manpower, praising "the positive spirit he felt from Jordanian officials." Amer said his group, through its investments in many countries, takes into account its societal role of developing local communities. During a meeting, attended by the ministers of finance and tourism and antiquities, Amer signed an agreement with Ali Ghzawi, chairman of Jordan Development Zones Company, the main developer of the Dead Sea area, to proceed with the project. Jordan's Finance minister Suleiman Hafez said the mega venture is a sign the Jordanian economy has begun recovery and that fiscal and monetary stability are returning to normal, adding that "prior to investing in a country, any investor must study the financial and monetary situation in that country." "We, as a government, welcome this venture and will provide all possible support to become a success story," he pledged, thanking Egyptian businessmen for their confidence in the feasibility of investment in Jordan.
